Ellen Mirojnick: From "Fatal Attraction" to "Oppenheimer"

by Cláudio Alves

There is little heroic about J. Robert Oppenheimer, whether in real life or on the big screen. Yet, in Christopher Nolan's latest, the commonplace act of getting dressed for the day is treated with the gravitas of a superhero movie's "suit up" scene. If nothing else, the moment highlights Ellen Mirojnick's work, another feather in the costume designer's cap. As with every one of the picture's elements, each choice is carefully deliberated, a negotiation of intimacy and immediacy that tries to transmit a first-person take on the period film. Two-piece tan suits rhyme with sky blue shirts, echoing the Los Alamos landscape, while a turquoise-inset silver belt buckle and porkpie-crowned cowboy-rimmed hat wink at Western iconography. It's a uniform as much as a costume, the men's "mythic look" as described by Mirojnick, who kept hats out of the other character's looks to make her protagonist stand out. 

This could be a lucky year for Mirojnick, awards-wise. Oppenheimer just might result in the designer's first Oscar nomination. Considering her vast career, it's hard to believe she's yet to be honored by the Academy…

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Ever After @25: A Timeless Cinderella Story

by Cláudio Alves

A quarter century ago, Hollywood remade the Cinderella story as it often does. Only this time, the fairytale was without fairies or any inkling of magic beyond the mystery of love. And Leonardo da Vinci, of course, for he's something of a wizard figure in the restyled narrative in which Perrault's classic tale is reworked through the Grimms' imagination and 1990s 'girl power' impetus. Da Vinci is also the movie's Achilles Heel, a miscalculation by the writing team of director Andy Tennant, Susannah Grant, and Rick Parks. Not that the misfortune wrecks the picture – Ever After is too charming for that. 

Indeed, the Drew Barrymore vehicle remains an entertaining period rom-com all these years after its release, its strengths only glowing brighter in retrospect. How can one resist Jenny Beavan's costume designs, George Fenton's impassioned score, Anjelica Huston's sharp spin on the evil stepmother archetype, and so much more? This Ren-Faire Cinderella deserves celebration…

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Jacqueline Durran: From Kubrick to Barbie

by Cláudio Alves

Two-time Academy Award winner Jacqueline Durran is undoubtedly on the path to another Oscar nomination, maybe even a third victory. The British costume designer brought the pink paradise of Barbie to life, delighting audiences with a mixture of archival recreations sized-up from doll scale and original creations in line with Greta Gerwig's reality-hopping narrative. The movie is a delight for costume lovers everywhere as soon as its first scene when it contrasts the graphic modernity of the 1959 swimsuit-clad Barbie with the attire of midcentury girlhood, their look defined - perchance shackled - by domestic aspiration. Then comes a series of classic Mattel outfits, a flurry of rosiness, and our welcome to BarbieLand. It's a colorful explosion of femininity as understood by kids' imaginations... 

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Queering the Oscars: The Costumes of "Orlando"

by Cláudio Alves

Sandy Powell's career has been closely tied to queer artistry since its genesis. After completing her education, the costume designer soon started collaborating with multi-hyphenated gay icon Lindsay Kemp whose stage work she had long admired, and, later, her jump from theater to film would be predicated on another queer genius, Derek Jarman. They'd work on four projects – Caravaggio, The Last of England, Edward II, and Wittgenstein – and the costumer would continue, keeping his memory alive after the director's death in 1994. Since then, even as her profile grew into the mainstream, Powell remained faithful to the idea and ideals of queerness in cinema, often joining forces with artists under the LGBTQ+ umbrella, Todd Haynes most of all.

As Pride Month 2023 reaches its end, let's remember this Academy darlings' first brush with Oscar. It was in 1993 when Sally Potter's adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Orlando earned Sandy Powell a Best Costume Design nomination…

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Yes No Maybe So: "Poor Things"

by Cláudio Alves

Vasilis Marmatakis has done it again. Yorgos Lanthimos' preferred poster designer always knocks them out of the park, and his latest creation's no different, hitting that sweet spot between beauty and unease. Poor Things looks impossibly enticing, mixing the lushness of period stylings with bodily discombobulations that hint at the mysteries of Emma Stone's character. She'll be Bella in this adaptation of Alasdair Gray's 1992 novel, a resurrected young woman who pursues personal freedom beyond the will of Dr. Baxter, the scientist who brought her corpse back to life. The original text has been described as funny, cerebral, and dirty, making it sound like the perfect playground for Lanthimos and his particular brand of off-kilter cinema.

Along with this new poster, Searchlight Pictures also released the theatrical trailer for the movie, whose American release is scheduled for September 8th. Considering that date, one wonders if the work might be headed to the Venice Film Festival. While waiting for confirmation, let's delve into the trailer and give it the customary 'Yes No Maybe So' treatment…

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